1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mobile devices. In particular, the present invention relates to disabling text-based communication on a mobile device in a moving vehicle.
2. Background of the Invention
Mobile devices, such as cellular telephones, are more and more ubiquitous in today's world. More powerful mobile phones with advanced features, such as smartphones having keyboards, enables various types of communication services beyond the traditional voice calls. For example, Short Message Service (SMS) is a text-based communication service, using standardized communication protocols that allow the exchange of short text messages between mobile phones. It has been shown that, despite a 100-percent price increase over the past couple of years, SMS text messaging usage is exploding more than 150 percent per year in the U.S. Further, it is worth noting that, in a recent survey, 26 percent of mobile phone users admit to driving while texting and nearly 60 percent of respondents are ages 16 to 19 (http://www.livescience.com/health/090521-dwt.html).
Texting while driving has serious negative consequences. Users who text while driving may change speeds rapidly for no reason and weave in and out of lanes. Such users are 5.36 times more likely to get in an accident than undistracted drivers (see Drivers on Cell Phones Are as Bad as Drunks: Utah Psychologists Warn Against Cell Phone Use While Driving. University of Utah press release, Jun. 29, 2006; (http://unews.utah.edu/p/?r=062206-1)). While statistics are difficult to come by, it is estimated that cell-phone distraction causes 2,600 deaths and 330,000 injuries in the United States each year. Therefore, texting while driving has become an increasing concern, especially for the parents who have teenagers.
Existing methods for controlling texting while being in a moving vehicle mainly rely on monitoring a vehicle's ignition system to prevent usage of a mobile device while driving. An ignition-monitoring module is implemented either by modifying the key or by installing a monitoring device into the vehicle (e.g., via an on-board diagnostics (ODB) port). The module connects to the mobile device via a wireless link, such as BLUETOOTH(®) and timely updates the driving status of the user, namely, driving or non-driving mode. The mobile device is locked once it goes into the driving mode (i.e., the vehicle is started) and all communication activities except emergency calls are disabled. A major drawback of this and similar approaches is that they require an association between a specific phone and the vehicle, which is completed through a setup process. Drivers can easily undermine the system by using unassociated phones. On the other hand, associated phones cannot be used even by a passenger once the vehicle is on. Therefore, the aforementioned schemes are neither effective nor flexible in practice.
What is therefore needed is a device, system, or method to disable certain features of a mobile device only while being operated by the driver of a moving vehicle.